Education Mental Health Practitioner Calderdale MHST

Northpoint Wellbeing Ltd

This job is now closed

Job summary

The Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) role provides an exciting opportunity to be trained in evidence-based interventions for children and young people in educational settings.

This programme is part of the national Children and Young Peoples Improving Access to Psychological Therapies Programme and developed from the Government green paper on young peoples mental health.

EMHPs will work within the existing Calderdale Mental Health Support Team (MHST), providing low intensity interventions in schools/colleges whilst undertaking a programme of training during the first year in post.

The successful applicants will be enrolled on the HEE Postgraduate Diploma in Education Mental Health Practice at Sheffield University. The post- holders will attend taught and self-study days and will work in the service for the remaining days of the week using their newly developed skills to support young people.

Interviews will be held on 17th and 18th November.

Main duties of the job

Through university learning and with support and supervision from the team the EMHPs will:

Offer high quality early intervention support to children, young people and parents

Provide support to staff in education settings as part of the Whole Setting Approach

Work in partnership with other services

Engage children, young people and their families to help develop the service

Candidates must have a proven record of academic attainment and ability to study at degree level, and a willingness and ability to complete further studies.

Candidates who are selected for interview will need to complete an additional written exercise to ensure eligibility for the training.

It is strongly desirable that applicants will have previous experience of working with children and young people.

About us

All staff within the Calderdale Mental Health Support Team are employed by Northpoint Wellbeing, a local charity that provides a range of services to promote emotional wellbeing. We believe that timely access to appropriate support, particularly talking therapies, is an effective way of promoting emotional wellbeing and relieving mental distress, for people of all ages and backgrounds.

When consulted on the workforce, children and young people have told us they want to be supported by staff who can identify with them, who have empathetic skills, who listen, and who involve them in decisions about their care.

Young people also felt the Open Minds Partnership workforce should be representative of the population they support.

Therefore, we are particularly interested in hearing from candidates who will help to make the Mental Health Support Team representative of the Calderdale population in terms of ethnicity, disability, sexuality, and lived experience (i.e. experience as service users).

Date posted

09 September 2021

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 4

Salary

£24,882 a year Currently £24,882. Progressing to Band 5 after training course.

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

B0173-21-1854

Job locations

9 Clare Road

Halifax

West Yorkshire

HX1 2HX

Job description

Job responsibilities

The Education Mental Health Practitioners (EMHP) will work within the established Calderdale Mental Health Support Team (MHST), providing low intensity interventions in schools/colleges whilst undertaking a programme of training during the first year in post.

Under supervision and with support, the EMHPs will develop knowledge and practice skills in:

Delivering evidence-based interventions for children and young people (and their parents where relevant and appropriate), with mild to moderate mental health problems, in named education settings in Calderdale.

Helping children and young people within these settings who present with more severe problems to rapidly access more specialist services.

Supporting and facilitating staff in education settings to identify, and where appropriate, manage issues related to mental health and wellbeing.

Working with and within educational environments to afford better access to specialist mental health services.

To evidence development of these skills with associated knowledge acquisition to record and evidence progression towards an academic award and demonstrable practical ability.

EMHP Role: The Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) role provides an exciting opportunity to be trained in evidence-based interventions for children and young people in educational settings.

The post- holder will attend all taught and self-study days required by the education provider (Sheffield University), as specified within the EMHP curriculum. EMHPs will work in the service for the remaining days of the week using their newly developed skills to support young people in education settings.

The training year will equip the post-holder to provide a range of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) based self-management interventions to children and young people with mild to moderate anxiety and depression and/or behavioural difficulties. The training includes skills and approaches for working with parents/carers to help them support their child, particularly those with younger children.

The post holder will work with children, young people and parents with different cultural backgrounds and ages, using interpreters when necessary, and should be committed to equal opportunities.

Background: The EMHP role was created in co-production with children and young people with the aim of preventing and treating low level mental health presentations in educational settings. The programme was developed following the Government green paper on improving access to mental health support for children and young people .

Calderdale MHST: Calderdale CCG (clinical commissioning group was successful in securing funding for a Mental Health Support Team which was launched in September 2020. The service is due to expand in 2022 with the addition of 4 new trainee EMHPs, plus additional clinical/supervisory and management support.

The MHST works flexibly in and around named educational settings, working alongside school and college staff to develop and provide preventive and support to meet the needs of their pupils and students experiencing low intensity mental health issues.

The main focus of the MHST is to deliver early intervention, low intensity, and short-term support in educational settings, as well as supporting rapid onward access to relevant specialist mental health services. The MHST also supports educational staff with training & consultation as well as assessment/support planning with children & young people. Calderdale MHST is a key part of Calderdales Open Minds Partnership of mental health services for children, young people and families.

The service works in an integrated manner with existing providers and professionals.

Specific vulnerable groups are proactively identified and helped through assessment, consultation, and support.

This is a new and developing service which aims to ensure the voice of children, young people and their families are heard alongside education colleagues.

Group interventions and digital on-line therapy also form part of the MHST offer.

The MHST clinicians & supervisors are experienced and qualified mental health practitioners who provide clinical support and supervision to the EMHPs. These clinicians also provide evidence based support to more complex cases.

Client Group: the mental health support teams focus on supporting students and pupils aged up to 18 with presenting problems of a low to moderate level of complexity, with some additional support for identified vulnerable groups. Vulnerable groups include pupils/ students with SEN support (pre EHCP), pupils at risk of exclusion, young carers, pupils who identify their gender as other (Calderdale eHNA survey), children and young people at the edge of care or who have previously been in care and families affected by flooding.

Open Minds Partnership: The Open Minds Partnership is a collective of commissioned providers of young peoples mental health services in Calderdale which includes Northpoint, South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SWYPT), and Kooth.com . The Mental Health Support Team operates as part of this partnership.

Northpoint are working closely with commissioners, Open Minds partners, and other agencies to implement the Thrive Elaborated Framework (LINK) which is aimed at transforming mental health services and involving young people in decisions around their care.

Partnership working: MHST staff link closely with Northpoints Open Minds (CAMHS) and wider Calderdale service offer, which currently includes:

A single point of access for mental health referrals for children & young people

A team of practitioners providing therapeutic interventions to children & families

Several innovative projects designed to strengthen links with schools and other agencies

Training, consultation and advice to schools and the childrens workforce.

The postholder will also build on existing links with other Open Minds partners including:

Specialist CAMHS (South West Yorkshire Partnership Foundation Trust)

Third sector agencies providing community and school based support

Digital innovations including Kooth, Silvercloud, and the Calderdale Open Minds website

Children and Young peoples participation groups